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I’ve never heard of this guy Adam Kokesh, but apparently he’s some big deal in the anti-war movement. But here’s what I got from the Washington Post;

Adam Kokesh, 25, a graduate student at George Washington University, faces a hearing Monday in Kansas City, where the Marines will recommend an “other than honorable” discharge from the Individual Ready Reserve. He was previously honorably discharged from active duty after fighting in Fallujah and receiving the Combat Action Ribbon and the Navy Commendation Medal.

Upon learning he was being investigated for wearing his uniform during the mock patrol, Kokesh wrote an e-mail to the investigating officer, Maj. John Whyte. The combat veteran discussed his service and his critique of the war, and asked this officer assigned to look into his “possible violation” of wearing his uniform: “We’re at war. Are you doing all you can?” He concluded with an obscene recommendation about what Whyte should go do.

OK, so far there’s a couple of things wrong with this whole story. First of all, everyone, including Kokesh at his self-serving blog claims he’s already been discharged, but that he’s in the Individual Ready Reserve. That’s impossible, junior. You might have a piece of paper that says you were discharged, but you ain’t discharged until you’ve served your time.

He was supposed to go to Iraq a second time, but was demoted from sergeant to corporal and not allowed to return after it was learned that he brought a pistol back after his first tour in 2004.

“Not allowed to return” – that means he wanted to return, but the Marines wouldn’t send him back. I think his disillusionment isn’t with the war. He’s lucky he didn’t go to Leavenworth then. The Marines cut him a break.

And that part of the story in Washington Post story about;

He concluded with an obscene recommendation about what Whyte should go do.

I’m guessing that refers to the sameÂ phrase thatÂ Vice President Cheney used when he told Senator Pat Leahy whatÂ Leahy should “go do”.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice addresses that quite succinctly;

889. ART. 89 DISRESPECT TOWARD SUPERIOR COMMISSIONED OFFICER
Any person subject to this chapter who behaves with disrespect toward his superior commissioned officer shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

Not much wiggle room there, junior. And who are persons subject to this chapter?

802 Art. 2

(d)(1) A member of a reserve component who is not on active duty and who is made the subject of proceedings under section 815 (article 15) or section 830 (article 30) with respect to an offense against this chapter may be ordered to active duty involuntary for the purpose of-
(A) investigation under section 832 of this title (article 32);
(B) trial by court-martial; or
(C) non judicial punishment under section 815 of this title (article 15).

Â 3.1.Â The wearing of the uniform by members of the Armed Forces (including retired members and members of Reserve components) is prohibited under any of the following circumstances:

Â Â 3.1.1.Â At any meeting or demonstration that is a function of, or sponsored by an organization, association, movement, group, or combination of persons that the Attorney General of the United States has designated, under Executive Order 10450 as amended (reference (c)), as totalitarian, fascist, communist, or subversive, or as having adopted a policy of advocating or approving the commission of acts of force or violence to deny others their rights under the Constitution of the United States, or as seeking to alter the form of Government of the United States by unconstitutional means.

Â Â 3.1.2.Â During or in connection with furthering political activities, private employment or commercial interests, when an inference of official sponsorship for the activity or interest may be drawn.

Â Â 3.1.3.Â Except when authorized by the approval authorities in subparagraph 4.1.1., when participating in activities such as unofficial public speeches, interviews, picket lines, marches, rallies or any public demonstration, which may imply Service sanction of the cause for which the demonstration or activity is conducted.

Â Â 3.1.4.Â When wearing of the uniform may tend to bring discredit upon the Armed Forces.

Since Kokesh was pretending to torture prisoners and making a general nuisance of himself, I’d guess he’d fit under that last one, at the least.

In fact, this from the IVAW websiteÂ that Kokesh himself wrote just a few weeks ago (dated May 17th) whenÂ he infiltrated a military base in Germany to spreadÂ his bile;

When we got to the gate, the guard said that I couldnâ€™t bring Jeff on with me because I was not registered in their system, even though I had a valid military ID. Jeff busted out the perfect story, â€œWeâ€™re backpacking around Europe, and we just wanted to come on base to use the PX. I just need to get some toiletries. See, I used to be in the Army too, but my ID is expired.â€ The guard suggested Jeff give me a list and wait for me. So I carried on alone.

Emphasis mine. He had a valid military ID card – he hadn’t been discharged, he’s subject to the UCMJ. Case closed.

UPDATE: In fact, here’s another charge to tack on, Maj. Whyte;

As I got to the security guard standing in the pedestrian passageway, the soldiers behind me started yelling. â€œHey, stop that guy!â€ â€œHey, you need to detain him!â€ â€œStop him!â€ The security guard told me to stop and I just kept walking. He grabbed my sleeve, but didnâ€™t even hold on. I turned the corner and just kept walking. I looked back and the First Sergeant was there watching me, but by then I was home free.

If this story is true (andÂ the authoritiesÂ could probably check with the leadership at that Ansbach, Germany Army base), Kokesh is guilty of failure to obey a lawful order and resisting apprehension on a Federal facility – they have a big white sign at the entrance of all US military bases that says, in effet, that you give up up all of your 4th Amendment rights voluntarily by passing through those gates.

According the Examiner Koresh made this statement to the press;

“This is clearly a case of selective prosecution and intimidation of veterans who speak out against the war,” Kokesh said. “To suggest that while as a veteran you don’t have freedom of speech is absurd.”

Sorry, buddy. You don’t have freedom of speech when you’re in the military – I didn’t have freedom of speech. There’s nothing selective about it. A field grade officerÂ was investigating your illegal behavior and you were disrespectful – while you had, by your own admission, a valid ID card – that means you’re subject to the UCMJ. Welcome to the real world, goober.

Looks like his lawyer is trying to frame this as a poor little Marine being railroaded by the PentagonÂ for his anti-war views. All it is an immature little turd who can’t follow the rules – at least as far back as 2004.

From the Post story;

The case also raises a fundamental question of interest to the roughly 158,000 men and women in the Marines’ and Army’s Individual Ready Reserve: Are they civilians — free to speak their minds — or not?

“This case is about the Marine Corps seeking to stifle critics of the Iraq policy by officially labeling civilian acts of peaceful protest and political speech as misconduct and serious offenses,” says Michael Lebowitz, Kokesh’s attorney, who fought in Iraq as an Army paratrooper .

[…]

But, counters Lebowitz, unlike other types of reservists who have specific paid duties, Individual Ready Reservists are not paid, have no weekend drill requirements and no chain of command. Therefore, he argues, they are civilians, unless summoned back to duty. And if they are civilians, they can say pretty much what they want.

“For the military to try to punish civilians for speaking out against the war is completely outrageous, says Arthur Spitzer, legal director of American Civil Liberties Union for the National Capital Area….

If he has in his possession a valid military ID card, andÂ he hasn’t finishedÂ his military committment,Â he’s not a civilian. He’s forbidden from wearingÂ his uniforms in public at political rallies. How hard is that to understand?Â He’s also forbidden to be disrespectful to superior officers. Again – real simple.

KokeshÂ used his military ID to access a military installation and spread anti-war propaganda -Â Kokesh figured he was in the military when he flashed the card to get on base. Are we just supposed to ask him how and when he wants the rules applied to his behavior?

“I will not be intimidated,” Kokesh says.

That’s good, you’re going to need to remember that when you’re cell mates with Bubba.

The Post also quoted Kokesh and his buddy who had this question;

Kokesh and Madden say they have a question about all this: Don’t the Marines have anything better to do these days?

No they don’t, actually. This isn’t the DC Metro police who only investigate crimes that occurÂ in Popeye’s chicken joints or in the frontseat of their patrol cars. This is the United States Marine Corps which relies on good order andÂ discipline in order to defend this country from our enemies. The rules are enforced uniformly and with good reason. If you don’t like being prosecuted, don’t be such a retard.

Robin at Chickenhawk Express reports that he was engaged in the same behavior this past weekend, too – still wearing his uniform even though he knows that the military disapproves of it. Obviously flaunting his misbehavior hoping someone throws his monkey-ass in jail.

Due to their outspoken opposition to the war, the Marine Corps is now formally threatening to revoke their discharges and retroactively change them to â€œother than honorable.â€ This is a new, unprecedented step the military feels is necessary in order to suppress a growing anti-war voice from within the military itself.

No discharge is being changed – he hasn’t been discharged yet. I know the Left depends on misinformation to keep the brainless minions on the plantation, but this is really beyond all reason.

On June 4, the Marine Corps will hold a hearing in Kansas City, MO. Adam is being re-activated just for the hearing so that they can discharge him again with an Other Than Honorable discharge. This for a man who has served two tours in Iraq during his six years of service. He has been on inactive reserve and was due for complete separation on June 18, just fourteen days after this hearing.

He only served one tour in Iraq – his second tour was cancelled because of his misbehavior – an offense that should make the anti-gun Left freak out, by the way.Â The Post story said he’s been in nearly eight years (I tend to believe that since a tour in the military is eight years). And as I pointed out above, he committed an offense worthy of a court martial and reactivating him to face charges is perfectly legal and common.Â

Lefty blogger Wonkette reported that Kokesh was just arrested by the Capitol Police last month for being a spaz. Don’t bother reading the comments – what a bunch of foul-mouthed creeps. (Editor’s Note;Ha! She deleted the comments after I linked to them.)

Hey John,
Guess I’ve just been out too long. What is “Individual Ready Reserve”?

When I got discharged the first time we had the active reserves or the inactive reserves until the 8 year obligation was over. Is the Individual Ready Reserve the same as the inactive reserve, and just a name change or something entirely different?

Just wearing BDU’s doesn’t seem to be much of a crime, especially since you can buy them at almost any military surplus store.

Thanks

Gramps

Jonn Lilyea wrote:Welcome, Gramps.You’re right, the inactive reserves are now the IRR. You’re also right that wearing a uniform isn’t much of a crime, but wearing a uniform to an anti-war rally (or any kind of political rally) while you’re still in the service is illegal. And then telling a field grade office to perform an impossible act upon himself when that field grade officer is doing the bidding of his superior – well, any E4 who doesn’t know that’s wrong wasted eight years of pushups. And then, while he knows he’s being investigated for wearing the uniform, turns around and does it again.

Yeah John, but us Marines ain’t known for our smarts LOL I can think of a field grade or two that I would have loved to say the same thing to, but alas nads too small Thanks, I kind of figured the IRR was the same as the inactive reserves, just didn’t know 4 sure.

This is the comment I submitted to his blog:
Hey “Semper Stupid”: I hope you not only get an “other than honorable” discharge, but that they take the rest of the rank they should have taken the first time you were busted. You’re a problem child and a loser.
Sergeant First Class Cheryl McElroy
US ARMY (RET)
Veteran of Desert Storm, Bosnia, and Operation Iraqi Freedom

Jonn Lilyea wrote: I’d expect nuthin’ less from you, Big Sarge. ButÂ I think you let him off easy.

It’s been a while since this post was updated…did you know Kokesh is running for Senate as a Libertarian/Republican in NM? Being an active duty spouse, I like to look behind the press to find out what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. I like some of what Kokesh SAYS he stands for but am concerned about the truth of his time in Fallujah and subsequent “protest” of the military. Will be looking closer into Kokesh’s story…am concerned that he is shaping up to be the kind of politician I’m not interested in: those who will say whatever is necessary to get elected so they can do what they really wanted to do and knows that no one would vote for them if they knew the truth.

Why is this so hard to understand? You either believe that we are a nation of laws and our government is bound to uphold and defend the Constitution, or you believe like GWB that the Constitution is just a GD piece of paper and not a suicide pact. All this former soldier is saying is that Congress should DECLARE WAR before committing troops into harms way. As the Constitution REQUIRES. Don’t tell me that authorizing “use of force” is the same thing as a declaration of war, because it is not. How can you call yourselves conservatives and then trash the Constitution and those who would like to see it upheld? Can we support the Constitution and the troops at the same time? Or are you advocating we act like Alinsky and say that the end justifies the means? Until you people wake up to the fact that both parties are creating a police state, for us not the terrorists, we are in serious trouble. Please stop smearing real patriots who actually believe in the Constitution while you simultaneously support any actual traitor with an (R) next to their name who would sell the Constitution down the river given the chance, please wake up and get a grip on real conservatism, not John McCain style conservatism but real, actual, traditional, conservatism.

Well, LE, your argument, about congress declaring war before sending troops to fight, went the way of the Dodo Bird back in 1964 under LBJ and the congress. Secondly, I wonder how you feel about the current administration and their lack of recognition of the same Constitution that you accuse GWB of ignoring?

Please feel free to show me exactly what part of the Constitution that GWB ignored. If you want to get into some heavy reading, whch I susapect you don’t, you can take a victory lap through The War Powers Act and then come back here and start getting whipped up all over again.

Actually, LE, I was mistaken, LBJ and the congress at the time, were the most blatant, but you would have to go back to Harry Truman and the Korean War and try and squeeze an argument to fit your mantra out of that one. Where was the declaration of war in 1950? I bet you can’t find it.

Here’s the thing, in the 120+ “wars” the US has been involved in, you can count on one hand the number that were formally declared by Congress. You’d have to roll back to Adams and Jefferson to find the first instances of a tacit congressional approval of hostilities without formal declaration, leaving the vast majority of our nation’s wars entirely up to the discretion of the executive on how to proceed. To suddenly act as if this crap appeared in a puff of sulfur smoke when Dubya assumed control is a load of horseshit.

In addition to all referenced above, he should recieve a discharge that reflects his service and actions while in the IRR. Based on the photo above, he chose to wear dark framed aviator sun glasses, and for this violation a BCD is in order.

You can believe me or not – since, ultimately, this post makes little difference and has little consequence – but this is my first arrival to this blog and I have no agenda. Exposing outright fakes as well as legit soldiers who concoct gross embellishments about their service is laudable and worthwhile. As a brief aside, I recall a particular medic at Ft. Benning who got in *big* trouble for wearing Ranger tabs that he hadn’t earned.

Anyway, I’ve watched a few of Adam Kokesh’s YT vids. He seems creepy in some respects, but he does appear to be a genuine and tireless activist. His arrests at the Jefferson Memorial and in Philadelphia were outrages against liberty. On the other hand, he made a fool of himself being interviewed by that snot-secreting animate garbage bag Joe Rogan. Overall, my sense is that Kokesh is sincere, and the attacks against him on this blog come across, in the main, as petty and spiteful. Here’s a quick list of Adam Kokesh (AK) v/s This Ain’t Hell (TH) points of discussion in order to make my case.

AK: Very public, putting himself at the forefront, earning the attention but also getting the arrests and beatdowns.

TH: Except for Jonn, several anonymous folks who claim to be current and former military.

AK: Was once a SGT, exited service as a CPL for smuggling an Iraqi pistol that he claims was a gift. Was caught with the pistol at V-Tech?

TH: Concludes that this makes AK fundamentally dishonest and untrustworthy, as well as unfit for Congress. This is the fallacy of poisoning the well. I’m not understanding why infantry combat killers writing on this blog are so shocked and appalled by his having an Iraqi pistol in his possession.

AK: Variously refers to himself as a SGT or a CPL. Legitimately was a SGT, then lost rank after the Iraqi pistol incident.

TH: Fails to consider the possibility that AK’s bio refers to him as SGT not as an attempt at deception but as a shorthand reference to the peak of his service. In either case, this seems like a distinction without a difference from the standpoint of AK’s activism.

You can believe me or not – since, ultimately, this post makes little difference and has little consequence – but this is my first arrival to this blog, and I have no agenda. Exposing outright fakes as well as legit soldiers who concoct gross embellishments about their service is laudable and worthwhile. As a brief aside, I recall a particular medic at Ft. Benning who got in *big* trouble for wearing Ranger tabs that he hadn’t earned.

Anyway, I’ve watched a few of Adam Kokesh’s YT vids. He seems creepy in some respects, but he does appear to be a genuine and tireless activist. His arrests at the Jefferson Memorial and in Philadelphia were outrages against liberty. On the other hand, he made a fool of himself being interviewed by that snot-secreting animate garbage bag Joe Rogan.

Overall, my sense is that Kokesh is sincere, and the attacks against him on this blog come across, in the main, as petty and spiteful. Here’s a quick list of Adam Kokesh (AK) v/s This Ain’t Hell (TH) points of discussion in order to make my case.

AK: Very public, putting himself at the forefront, earning the attention but also getting the arrests and beatdowns.

TH: Except for Jonn, several anonymous folks who claim to be current and former military.

AK: Was once a SGT, exited service as a CPL for smuggling an Iraqi pistol that he claims was a gift. Was caught with the pistol (at V-Tech?).

TH: Concludes that this makes AK fundamentally dishonest and untrustworthy, as well as unfit for Congress. This is the fallacy of poisoning the well. I’m not understanding why infantry combat killers writing on this blog are so shocked and appalled by his having an Iraqi pistol in his possession.

AK: Variously refers to himself as a SGT or a CPL. Legitimately was a SGT, then lost rank after the Iraqi pistol incident.

TH: Fails to consider the possibility that AK’s bio refers to him as SGT not as an attempt at deception but as a shorthand reference to the peak of his service. In either case, this seems like a distinction without a difference from the standpoint of AK’s activism.

TH: This one baffles me. Again, a group of (mostly) anonymous infantry combat killers taking the side of the STATE against a citizen’s free speech? Just what exactly did you swear an oath to defend???

AK: Inveigles his way onto a US military base in order to distribute leaflets.

TH: Rails against AK “breaking the rules”. Yes, and thank the deity or metaphysical presence of your choice for rules breakers. Otherwise, no one would believe that morally-normal US troops in a chopper would fire on unarmed civilians and reports below, aka Collateral Murder.

#53 LOL pointless? Not really, Vauo, you are talking about someone who posted on this in June, one person. So because PH, one female posted something on this in June. You decided to dedicate your time to posting that?

For a little perspective, we didn’t always out posers at this blog. We did, however, and fairly successfully I might add, end any influence that the IVAW had on the discussion over the Iraq War and, later, the Afghanistan War. The “phony vet” thing did spring from Kokesh and his band of wantwits eventually.

So why would veterans not like Kokesh because he smuggled a pistol back from Iraq? Because, in order to be an effective Non-commissioned Officer, we had to follow the rules and set the example for the younger soldiers and smuggling a pistol back from the war was against the rules. Kokesh decided that he knew better than the marine Corps and brought back an illegal firearm. I don’t think he got busted low enough.

And the poster thing, well, that goes the same way. Putting up political posters in a National Park is illegal, putting up a poster in front of police officers after being told not to is just political theater, so is dancing in the Jefferson memorial. What did either accomplish, except to inflate Kokesh’s ego?

Yay! I can dance in the Jefferson Memorial now – I’ve been to the Memorial several times and never once felt an urge to dance. But, thanks, Adam.

There is only one reason why somebody would that I can think of, Ord. Kokesh is in dire need of more loving or he’s got something up his f’ng sleeve….Hi ya, vau0807. Did you think you were going to get a free pass or were you just not thinking, dipshit? Plenty of postings from you all over the f’ng planet. Go home little boy, leave the adults to converse, K?

A. Kokesh calls himself Sgt, but he is not. there was a time in my carreer that i was busted down from Sgt to Spc, i didnt get to call myself Sgt Smith until i went back to the board and regained my chevrons (if ya want that story ill be happy to share it, i took the fall for one of my soldiers and would happily do it again). if ya get knocked down, you dont get to keep calling yourself by the previous rank, that just isnt how it works.

as for the smuggling, i was gifted an AK in Iraq, i still have it. the difference, is that mine was actually a gift and i did all the required paper work associated with it. Gifts are allowed (and a pain in the ass as im told), war trophies are not. Kokesh found a pistol through what ever means and smuggled it back to the states. he should be glad he only lost one rank for that. the Combat infantry here are appauled by his actions, because the infantry is based on the rules. we must hold our selves to higher standards in all aspects than anyone else. we are who people want to blame for everything that goes wrong and accuse of “war crimes” at the drop of a hat. we infantrymen must be above reproach. there were 2 pistol incidents in my unit durring our deployment. one was a E-4 that took a civilian pistol with him to iraq, the other was an E-4 that tried to bring one home. both were given field grades and busted to E-1.

as for TAH taking the side of the state for Kokesh’s arrest, it isnt siding with the state, as most of us oppose government intervention into most aspects of anything. the rules are in place and must be followed. we can oppose the rules and there are means to do so, but it must be done legally or you discredit your entire movement as a bunch of hooligans. Even Jonn has stated in several gun arrest cases here, that while the laws are, for lack of a better word, stupid, they are the laws in place and to violate them is not a second ammendment case, but a blatant violation of known laws. (cant remember the date of the post to get the link, but a guy selling high capacity mags in New york comes to mind) the laws are in place, and weather we agree with them or not, we must follow them until they are repealled.

as far as people here being “anonymous”, i have no problem with anyone knowing who i am, but i have no interest in national attention and scrutiny. by Kokesh putting himself on the national stage and acting like an idiot when he got there, he welcomed the attention, comments, and articles that have been written about him. If Sarah Pallin (not a fan of hers, but a good example), a respected govener, former beauty queen, educated woman, can be attacked for being “stupid” “ugly” and anything else under the sun, why would Kokesh be exempt from attacks when he actually acts like an idiot? the vast majority of “combat infantry killers” do not want the spot light and prefer to go about their lives content to have no one know of the horrors they have expirienced. it is my expirience, that almost everyone that likes to tell war stories if full of shit and never saw a round fired in anger. i would not in the least be surprised to see Kokesh in this group.

I believe i have addressed all of your points in a clear mannor, feel free to inquire if i have not.

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About thisainthell

We are all military combat veterans and we write primarily from that perspective. Everyone who writes here has a Combat Infantry Badge, a Combat Medic Badge, a Combat Action Badge or a Combat Action Ribbon. We write about issues that matter to combat veterans..read more »